Matthew Tully: Joe Donnelly tries to 'hit it straight down the middle'

Oct. 29, 2013

'We have to come to a place as a country where we can look at each other and talk about our differences and not impugn each others' motives,' Sen. Joe Donnelly says. 'Great things are not accomplished by screaming at each other.' / AP

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All the opinion polls say the same thing: Americans are incredibly, painfully and justifiably frustrated with Congress. The dysfunction and gridlock that has always been a part of the D.C. story is now the lead story, and that largely explains Congress’ single-digit approval ratings.

Although things haven’t gotten any better since the 2012 elections, the good news is that the past 12 months have made clear that Indiana got it right when it elected Sen. Joe Donnelly as its junior senator.

If you’re fed up with Washington’s mess, that’s understandable. If you think Congress is one of the nation’s biggest sources of trouble, you’re in the majority. But Joe Donnelly, it should be noted, isn’t part of the problem.

When the government shutdown hit, Donnelly was one of 14 senators who went to work at finding a reasonable middle-ground solution — a monumental undertaking in this political era. When some of us called for sweeping gun restrictions after the latest mass shooting, Donnelly supported expanded background checks but continued to oppose a long list of harsher gun controls. He pleased many in his party when he reversed his opposition to gay marriage this year, but he disappointed others by voting to support the Keystone XL pipeline plan. He supported a Senate immigration bill that left both the far left and the far right wanting more but that pursued a sensible, workable fix.

Yes, Donnelly is a Democrat and votes most often with his party. (I need to acknowledge that fact of life before my email and voice mail light up.) But he fits nicely in a chamber whose numbers require a heavy dose moderation for anything to pass, and more important he is a constant voice in support of bipartisanship and pragmatism at times when such traits are too often shouted down.

“Our success as a country, and a state, is directly related to issues like jobs and education and safe neighborhoods,” he said. “We’re not successful unless we are improving those things. That’s why the sideshow is so pointless. There’s all this screaming and yelling when we should be focused on our kids and their schools and their futures.”

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Donnelly likes to say that voters sent him to Washington to “get things done.” And while that might sound like a cliche, it’s actually true in his case. Indiana voters, including many Republicans, reacted adversely to the anti-compromise mantra of his 2012 opponent, Richard Mourdock, and gave Democrats a seat few expected the party would be able to win.

“Indiana voters said very clearly and very decisively that we expect you to go there as our senator, to represent us and not to play party politics,” Donnelly said.

As we talked last week, the first-year senator said his work in the group of 14 Senate moderates, which advocated for a bipartisan and balanced deal to end the shutdown, one that would pave the wave for long-term budget talks, “showed that party had nothing to do with” his thinking. To conservative critics who say he supports his party too blindly, he said: “I don’t know what else I can do but continue to hit it straight down the middle.”

In politics these days, it’s easy to worry that the sensible middle ground is being increasingly overshadowed by partisan warriors such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. But Donnelly’s election was a reminder than many voters appreciate those who try to tackle issues without overheated rhetoric aimed at pleasing one fringe cable TV news channel or another. His style is a reminder that the best lawmakers are often those who come from districts and states whose partisan demographics force them to think about the other’s side’s point of view.

To understand Donnelly all you have to do is look at his reaction to the federal health care legislation championed by President Obama. He voted for the plan and defends its chief tenets, those that protect patients. But unlike some Democrats he talks openly and strongly about its flaws. He has pushed to repeal the law’s new tax on medical devices, for instance, and says it should label full-time workers those who work 40 hours a week, and not 30.

“The whole discussion has been so poisoned by folks on one side saying it’s perfect and folks on the other side saying it is the worst thing ever created and must be fully repealed,” he said. “I’m really frustrated with what’s gone on with the rollout. But as things come up, let’s fix them. Let’s make the law better.”

That’s not a great message if you want to fire up the base or get a consistent spot on a cable TV shoutfest. It’s not likely to spark a flood of campaign contributions, as have the histrionics of Sen. Cruz. But it might just help improve some of the problems facing this country.

“We have to come to a place as a country where we can look at each other and talk about our differences and not impugn each others’ motives,” Donnelly said. “Great things are not accomplished by screaming at each other.”

To explain how they are accomplished, and how big problems are solved, Donnelly referred to the wisdom of his late father, a man who spent years running his own business.

“My dad’s solution to everything was: just go to work,” he said. “That’s what we need to do.”

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